1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Finally got my car fixed. Some of you may remember I posted about a noise from the timing end of the engine. Well, it turned out to be the alternator bearings going out. I ordered the alternator from my local Advance Auto Parts store and they had it in two days. 8-) $193 + $95 core charge. Here are some pointers for the next person who needs to do this.
1. The Haynes manual is worthless for this task.
2. The alternator bolts are 8mm Allens and there is very little clearance for the top one.
3. Remove the tensioner arm from the engine to provide better access to the top alternator bolt otherwise, the pulley gets in the way.
4. There are two different alternators available. If yours has a 2" spacer behind the pulley then you need a 2nd production alternator. The 1st production alternator doesn't have a spacer (I found out the hard way).
5. The haynes manual says to take the alternator out through the wheel well. The only way I could have done that is to remove the driveshaft first. The clearance is tight but, alternator can be removed through the top of the engine bay.
6. After removing everything I could, I still couldn't get the top alternator bolt out so I had to remove the upper mounting bracket. One of the bolts is behind the alternator to get it out I had to: pry out the bottom of the alternator; remove the oil filler tube and use a stubby wrench on it.
7. The tensioner arm casting is VERY fragile and VERY expensive $110 + shipping. Be careful with it, the pulley mounting area is 2-4mm of cast aluminum, if you put pressure on the pulley you may crack the mount. I know from experience. 8-(
Hope this helps somebody else in the future.
Oh yeah, total time spent trying to get the old alternator out 8 hours. Total time to put new alternator in 1 hour. Total time waiting for new tensioner arm to come from California, next day air, over a weekend, four days; orderd on Saturday, shipped on Monday, received on Tuesday.
posted by 63.10....
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.